Buzz Blog

Cody Eden

Today
we're delving back into comedy, and the only way I could think to
start this was to tell you a story. I've met Cody Eden on several
occasions, but aside the special with Marcus at Kingsbury Hall, the
last memorable moment was at a Halloween party last year. The picture below this paragraph shows him coming dressed with a beret and a cardboard cutout of a t-shirt behind his
head. Can you guess what
he was? ...He was posing as Che Guevara, in the only way most people
under the age of 40 know of Che Guevara. And that's just the start of
his comedic wit.

--- Cody has been busting his ass in
darkened halls and bars for the past few years now, trying to escape
the mundane world of the postal service and provide local audiences
with a smile or two with his uncensored comedy. I got a chance to chat
with the man himself about starting out and working on material, plus
his thoughts on the local comedy scene and a few other topics.

Cody:
I'm a 26 year old male born and raised in Salt Lake City and its
surrounding areas. I've been doing stand up comedy since roughly
early '09. Before that I was in some bands, but I got sick of
splitting door money with four other dudes. I live in the Sugarhood,
I'm married to a lady who is funnier than I am, I'm the proud father
of multiple cats, and I have a day job at the United States Postal
Service zipcode farm.

Gavin:
What first got you interested in standup comedy, and who were some
of your favorites comedians growing up?

Cody:
Growing up standup comedy seemed kind of like magic to me. I loved
it, but it seemed like such impossible wizardry for these guys to
come up with jokes that weren't even about a guy walking into a bar.
Some of the comics who most captured my imagination were Bill Cosby,
Richard Prior, George Carlin, Lewis Black, Mitch Hedberg and Steven
Wright.

Gavin:
How did the decision officially come about for you to attempt it as
a career?

Cody:
It was kind of a tough thing, because again, even though I had a lot
of love and respect for comedy, I never thought it was something I
could do. I was the type of guy growing up who was the quietly
funny/clever one, but by no means the class clown. The tipping point
probably came from my boring post office job where I listened to a
lot of podcasts, things like Adam Carolla's show, where I heard
comedians talking about their careers and how they got started. That
was when I realized, "Hey, these guys are just a bunch of sad,
socially awkward sacks of shit like myself who crave some combination
of public attention and abuse." I finally got the nerve to hit
up the open mic at Wiseguys; the atmosphere was just the right
combination of hopeful and pathetic to get me hooked.

Gavin:
What was it like for you breaking into the local lineups and getting
gigs?

Cody:
It happened fairly quickly for me, at least initially. I was
somewhat comfortable being on stage, I wrote semi-decent jokes, and
the local talent pool is small enough that the folks who put on shows
are always looking for new faces to mix things up. That's been the
blessing of starting in a place like Salt Lake; the competition isn't
as fierce as somewhere like LA or New York, so it's allowed me to
develop and come into my own surrounded by supportive, helpful
people.

Gavin:
When you first started out, what were some of the lessons you
learned about performing?

Cody:
I quickly learned that pacing on stage was distracting, and because
I'm pretty fidgety I almost over-corrected that to a fault. If I so
much as walk to the edge of the stage during a set I'm out of breath
and dizzy. Really, though, there is so much to learn, yet there are
very few hard-and-fast rules, most of it is figuring out what works
best for you both on a technical and philosophical level. There are,
of course, the basics: Slow down, enunciate, speak directly into the
microphone, all things that seem obvious but can elude anyone who
isn't used to public speaking. The key thing I've learned, though,
has been to believe in your material and in your act at all times.
Own the stage from the moment you walk out to the moment you finish,
and most importantly, if you have a joke or two that doesn't go over,
don't get shaken--stick with your delivery and don't start
half-assing it. That's the real challenge of stand up: it's a
medium that lends itself to neurotic people with self-esteem issues,
yet keeping one's confidence is the most important element.

Gavin:
What's it like for you personally coming up with material and
decided what works and doesn't?

Cody:
Writing jokes can be tough, the best things always seem to come to
me out of the blue. When I sit down in front of a blank page and
just try to write material, I always come up with the "trying
too hard" stuff--things that take so many twists and stretches
and leaps of logic that the audience can't keep track of where I'm
going. I believe in the rock and roll ethos when it comes to
jokes--keep it as simple as you possibly can while still conveying
your idea. Of course, it's important to also try to be creative and
fresh and come up with things that no one else has, but I think if
any creative person is being true to their own point of view that
will come naturally. I just try to be vigilant and observant of my
world and the things that interest me or strike me as curious, and
try to figure out what the truth of that thing is from my point of
view. Truth is the heart of every good joke! Even if that truth is
purely subjective. As far as what works and what doesn't, it's purely
trial and error. I'm a terrible judge of my own jokes until they're
stage tested.

Gavin:
How is it for you interacting with other local comedians, both as
friends and competitors?

Cody:
The local scene right now seems very friendly and supportive, at
least among comics. I've heard in the past that there used to be a
lot more politics and bad blood going around, but most of that seems
to have really subsided, aside from occasional petty disagreements
between guys here and there. From my point of view, since it is a
small scene, folks have sort of banded together. I think people have
realized that if you're not going to play nice, no one's going to
work with you, and no one does much of anything in comedy without the
support of a scene. I don't look at other local comedians as
competition at all. It's like any other art or music scene--what's
good for one comic is good for everyone. The only thing that really
matters is getting audiences to shows and making them aware of what's
out there. If a comic like, say, John Hilder has a show that goes
well and draws a big crowd, I don't get jealous (as much as my
neurotic side would automatically like to), I'm glad because I know
that venue will be more likely to have shows with guys like me in the
future.

Gavin:
Recently you've opened up for some bigger names coming through town,
even did Marcus' taped special. What's that experience been like for
you earning that kind of billing?

Cody:
It's very nice to work with talented professionals when they come
through town, both to see how they work their craft, and to get to
talk a little shop. Comics in this town are lucky to have a place
like Wiseguy's where you can get the stage time necessary to develop
your voice, but also have a chance to work alongside some big names.
Again, that's something that's not as available to comedians in
bigger cities. As far as Marcus, first of all, Marcus has supported
me like no one else since I've started doing comedy. I owe so much
to him both in terms of the gigs I've done with him and the kind
friendship he's shown me. He's a big supporter of local comedy, and
has gone out of his way to do good things for the scene. Opening for
him at Kingsbury Hall was really a treat, albeit a strange and
surreal night. Going from performing at clubs and bars for mostly
small audiences to being in a big beautiful theater in front of 700
people was a little like owning a Ford Taurus and then getting to
drive your buddy's Ferrari. I was probably out of my element, but it
was an absolute blast.

Gavin:
Are there any plans for you to tour down the road or are you looking
to stick to home for now?

Cody:
I'm always looking for opportunities to get out on the road. Of
course it's tough when (a) you have a day job and (b) no one outside
of Salt Lake has any idea who I am, but it's something I plug away at
in the hopes that I will one day be able to tell jokes for money as a
career. The experiences I have had going out on the road have been
mostly positive, and I've been able to meet some really good people
from other places.

Gavin:
Going a bit local, what's your take on the standup scene, both good
and bad?

Cody:
Again, I think we're in a good place as far people guys being
supportive and encouraging to one another, and I think that has
resulted in better shows. The local comics I've seen over the last
year or so have really upped their games, which is exciting to watch.
My biggest criticism of the stand up scene is that we don't have a
lot of female comics, or really not a lot of any type of comics who
aren't straight white males in their 20's or 30's. Of course, I
guess it's fitting that the comedy scene should reflect the
stereotypes of the area, so in that sense we're nailing it. Lady
comedians, get back to having babies, and ethnic comedians, we'll
continue to pretend you don't exist.

Gavin:
Is there anything you think could be done to make it more
prominent?

Cody:
I think more could be done to really band together and publicize
things. We're comedians, not managers or promoters, so that type of
thing doesn't come naturally to us, but if we can pool our resources
and work at it collectively, we could do a better job with publicity
than we have in the past. We are taking steps in the right
direction. The SLC Comedy Scene facebook page could be a great tool
for people, and guys like Jose Bacio are working hard to find more
venues and promote shows. Also, I think a lot of it just a matter of
continuing to put on good shows, and doing it often enough that the
word spreads. Salt Lake has a young, hip, smart population of urban
folk who like to go to out to events and have fun--that's obvious
when you go to out to concerts, or go to something like the Big Shiny
Geek Show night at Burt's. Right now, a lot of those people aren't
going to comedy shows regularly, and I feel like it's because they
just don't know how good some of our talent is here. If we keep
putting out good things, they will come.

Gavin:
Aside yourself, who are some of your favorites you like to check out
around town?

Cody:
We have a nice mix of new, creative voices--guys like Ryan Doud and
Byron Stout--and guys who have been at it for years and have really
come into their own. Christopher Stephenson, Levi Rounds, and Blake
Bard are some of my favorite dudes ever. Arthur Carter's new
material has been killing me every time I see him. Dave Ackerman
came here fairly recently from Chicago and really blew me away with
how funny and off-beat he is. Aaron Burrell and Spencer King are
both Wiseguys favorites who write clever jokes and find a way to have
an edge about them despite being fairly clean. By the way, the "clean
vs dirty" issue drives me insane, but it's impossible to avoid
in Utah. Too much to get into here. Toy Soup is an improv pair that
are riotously energetic and inventive. There are some guys I
mentioned earlier and really I could go on for a disgustingly long
time, sorry to any comics I left out. Just know, dear reader, that
there are quality, experienced comics out there for you to check
out.

Gavin:
What are your thoughts on the clubs that provide standups a forum to
perform, and the work they do to help bring in audiences?

Cody:
The main comedy club chain in Utah is Wiseguy's, owned and operated
by Keith Stubbs. Wiseguy's is a really great experience for
comedians--a legit club with good sound, audiences that come
specifically for comedy, and legit national headlining acts to work
with. It's been such a help for me to be able to stretch my wings
and try new things in a real quality comedy club, it's not something
comedians everywhere get a chance to do at an early stage. The other
long-standing comedy venue in Salt Lake is the Sunday night show at
Mo's at 350 So. West Temple, which if any of your readers haven't
been to, they should go check out immediately! After all, it's free
to get in--Sundays at 10:30. Mo's is an uncensored show. Rare for
Utah, and for lack of a better term, it serves as the "alternative"
comedy outlet in Salt Lake. It's a showcase format—five to ten
local comedians doing 10-15 minute sets--and it's really been
instrumental for me to develop my act and meet a lot of great
comedians and friends. Really, I'm about to get all gushy just
talking about it, which is silly because it's essentially just a
bunch of drunks who meet weekly to bitch about their lives. It's
kind of like Alcoholics Anonymous, only the opposite of
Anonymous.

Gavin:
Whats your opinion of national standups coming through town and what
that does for the local scene?

Cody:
It's great! Even comedians who I'm not necessarily a fan of, it's
great when they come here and get people's attention and just remind
folks that a standup comedy show is a viable entertainment
option.

Gavin:
What can we expect from you over the rest of the year?

Cody:
I'm perpetually thinking of recording a CD, just wanting to polish
up a little more material, but I would like to have that process
underway by the end of the year. The things I'm focusing on the most
are to get out on the road when I have opportunities, and to keep
writing jokes and keep pushing myself to try new things. To find out
about shows I'm doing, look me up at my website or
Facebook and I'll bother you incessantly until
you show up at something.

Gavin:
Is there anything you'd like to plug or promote?

Cody:
The aforementioned Mo's shows people should definitely support.
Again, people should look me up on the internets to stay posted about
what I'm doing in the future. Also, even though I won't be
performing, people should go see Brian Posehn and Maria Bamford when
they come to Wiseguy's in August. They're two of my all-time
favorites, especially Maria, who I think is a genius and a national
treasure. And good turnouts for those shows will ensure that
Wiseguy's keeps bringing back the creative, smart comedians that I
love so much, and not just more Rob Schneider. ...I mean, nothing
against Rob Schneider, just, y'know... he's Rob Schneider.